Daily Encouragement by Daisaku Ikeda
Thursday, December 24, 2009

Many religions have demanded blind faith, taking away people’s independence. President Makiguchi opposed such enslavement. What he called for instead was solidarity of awakened common people. To achieve this, he proposed a self-reliant way of life in which we advance on the path of our choice with a firm, independent character. He also stressed a contributive way of life in which we set our fundamental goal in life toward the realization of happiness for ourselves and others, casting aside arrogance and self-satisfaction to respect and benefit others.

Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikeda
Thursday, December 24, 2009 (Buddhism Day by Day)

Where is happiness to be found? The famous Roman philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius said, “A man‚’s true delight is to do the things he was made for.” Human happiness, he maintained, lies in doing those things only humans can: seeking the truth and acting to help those who are suffering. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, too, asserted that those who work cheerfully and take joy in the fruits of their labor are truly happy. These are the words of great thinkers, and as you can see they are in complete accord with the teachings of Buddhism.

From the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin
Thursday, December 24, 2009 (Daily Wisdom)

Becoming a Buddha is nothing extraordinary. If you chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with your whole heart, you will naturally become endowed with the Buddha’s thirty-two features and eighty characteristics. As the sutra says, “hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us,” you can readily become as noble a Buddha as Shakyamuni.

“Everything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so.”   — Marcus  Aurelius

(Hmmm!  Not so sure I completely agree with this.) YUR

IN THIS FILM, 150 SAMURAI ARMED WITH SWORDS DEFEAT AN ARMY OF 10,000 MEN ARMED WITH REPEATING RIFLES.  PRETTY COOL STUFF.

http://pedrofeliz3b.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/christians-stoics-spartans-samurai-the-conquest-of-death/

Gibbon’s Decline and Fall begins with the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD. It was all downhill from there.

Besides being a well-regarded emperor who was succeeded by an ill-regarded son, Marcus was a philosopher. Reading the works of Epictetus turned him into a devoted stoic as a young man. Marcus’ book Meditations remains the sterling example of the stoic mindset: civility, moderation in all things, and above all, taking triumph and tragedy with the same quiet dignity.

Marcus also had a bit of the economist in him. Despite predating Adam Smith by sixteen centuries, Meditations contains an excellent example of opportunity costs. Only the law of demand is more important in the economist’s toolkit. As a way of saying “mind your own business,” he writes:

Do not waste what remains of your life in speculating about your neighbours, unless with a view to some mutual benefit. To wonder what so-and-so is doing and why… means a loss of opportunity for some other task.*

*Meditations, III.4; trans. Maxwell Staniforth.

Annie Dillard:

An Inuit hunter asked the local missionary priest: “If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?” “No,” said the priest, “not if you did not know.” “Then why,” asked the Inuit earnestly, “did you tell me?”

Dante Aleghieri:

The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of great moral crises maintain their neutrality.

John Milton:

The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven.

Marcus Aurelius:

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. I am not afraid.

Mark Twain:

Travel has no longer any charm for me. I have seen all the foreign countries I want to except heaven & hell & I have only a vague curiosity about one of those.

Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.

“The Bible has noble poetry in it and some clever fables; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.”

tomorrow is nothing.  today is too late.  the good lived yesterday. – marcus aurelius

seize the (yester)day!

Şunu asla aklından çıkarma: İster üç bin yıl yaşa, ister otuz bin yıl, şu anda sahip olduğundan başka bir yaşamı yitiremezsin ve mevcut yaşamın sona erdikten sonra, yeni bir yaşama da sahip olamazsın. Öyleyse, en kısa ve en uzun yaşamların aslında birbirinden hiçbir farkı yoktur.

 Çünkü içinde bulunduğumuz şu kısacık an, yaşayan bütün yaratıklar için aynı değerdedir, geçip gitmiş olan zaman ise artık bize ait değildir, sonsuza dek elden çıkmıştır. Ne geçmiş ne de gelecek bize ait olmadığına göre nasıl elimizden alınabilir ki? Öyleyse, hiç kimse geçmişi ya da geleceği yitiremez.

 Şu iki şeyi her zaman aklında tut: Birincisi, zamanın başlangıcından bu yana, yaratılışı meydana getiren oluşumlar sürekli birbirini yineler, demek ki, yüz yıl ya da iki yüz yıl yaşamanla, sonsuza dek yaşaman arasında hiçbir fark yoktur. İkincisi de, en uzun ömürlü insan ile en kısa ömürlü insanın sonunda yitirdiği, tamı tamına aynı şeydir.

Eğer gerçekten sahip olduğumuz biricik şey, içinde bulunduğumuz şu an ise ve sahip olmadığımız bir şeyi yitirmemiz de mümkün olmadığına göre, birisinin elimizden alabileceği tek şey, yaşadığımız andır.

Marcus Aurelius’ tan

Başka birinin zihninden geçenler ya da senin bedeninde meydana gelen değişiklikler senin için kötülük kaynağı olamaz. Öyleyse kötülük nereden kaynaklanır?

İyi ve kötü yargılamasını yapan, senin kendi zihnindir. Bu yargılamadan vazgeçtiğinde, her şey düzelecektir. Ve zihninin en yakın komşusu, zavallı bedenin, doğranmış, yanmış, parçalanmış ya da yaralanmış olsa bile, böyle bir yargının ortaya çıkmasına meydan verme. Eğer bir şey istisnasız hem iyi insanların hem de kötülerin başına gelebiliyorsa, iyi ya da kötü diye bir değerlendirme yapmaktan kaçın.

Doğa’ya karşı yaşayanların da, onunla uyum içinde yaşayanların da başına eşit olarak gelebilecek bir şey, Doğa’ya bir yarar da sağlamaz, ona zarar da veremez.

Marcus Aurelius’tan

“Labor willingly and diligently, undistracted and aware of the common interest. [. . .] A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.”

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book III, #5

“Do the external things that fall upon you distract you? Give yourself time to learn something new and good, and cease to be whirled around. But then you must also avoid being carried about the other way. For those, too, are triflers who have wearied themselves in life by their activity and yet have no object to which to direct every movement and every thought.”

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book II, #7

That’s the fancy way of saying idle hands are the devil’s playground.

After six years of boycott, Sir Alex Ferguson will have to start talking to the BBC. That’s a result of new Premier League media rules in effect from the start of next season. Ferguson has not spoken to the BBC since 2004 when a Panorama documentary claimed that his son, Jason, was using his father’s status to gain influence in the transfer market.

It remains to be seen how Ferguson chooses to interpret the new rules. Maybe he will continue to send assistant manager Mike Phelan to BBC MotD interviews. Personally I think Ferguson should consider the advice from Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor (AD 121 – 180) who is perhaps best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy:

“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”

There’s no question that football clubs and broadcasters are tied more closely together than ever before, be it by fate or commercial realities. Global television is at the very heart of the business logic that brings millions of pounds to players and managers. Through television the “product” (a football game) can be sold to millions of people with very little additional production cost for each viewer.

It is well documented that Ferguson considers press conferences a total wast of time (except, I suppose, when they can be used for mind games) and occasionally treats reporters to rants from the Joe Kinnear School of Media Relations. I wouldn’t mind a more stoic approach in the future.

“Az igazságok közül, melyekre szemedet függeszted, kettő legyen mindig kéznél. Először, hogy a külső dolgok nem férnek hozzá a lélekhez, hanem kívül vannak rajta, mégpedig mozdulatlanul – minden izgalom tehát belső felfogásból fakad. Másodszor, hogy mindaz, amit látsz, hamarosan megváltozik, sőt megszűnik. Arra gondolj, hány változásnak voltál már magad is tanúja. A világ változás, az élet felfogás dolga.” (Marcus Aurelius)

Belief that one’s spirit lives on – in a form which as yet, despite all the theories advanced and blood shed to date, no-one has ever established as definitive – makes life and its vicissitudes much easier to bear. Unfortunately, one cannot make oneself believe in anything, whether it be the existence of God or the infallibility of Professor Dawkins, to give but two  contemporary examples. Belief either arrives, or it doesn’t. Sometimes it arrives – then goes away again. One can go through long spells playing hide-and-seek with belief. So what to do, as life rolls on in its inevitable way?

Whilst trawling through some sites the other night, I came across some guiding wisdom from that wise, Stoical and only mildly cynical ancient Roman, Marcus Aurelius.

(26 April 121 – 17 March 180)

Marcus Aurelius in bronze: The Louvre, Paris

“Ah” I thought. ” Time to post a quote. I should share this prescription with my increasing band of readers, especially those who seem to love the Favourite Quotes theme on this site.”

Read, enjoy – and comment!

” Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. I am not afraid. “

Marcus Aurelius

found at

http://bluelyon.wordpress.com/quotations/

“Look to the underlying cause, stripped of appearances; into the intention behind your actions, and at the true nature of pain, pleasure, death, and fame. See how you manufacture your own discontent, how no one hinders you but yourself, how everything depends on your view of it.” 12:8

“What cannot hurt the community cannot hurt the individual. Every time you think you’ve been wronged, apply this rule: if the community isn’t hurt by it, then neither am I. But what if the community is hurt? Then don’t be angry with the person who caused the injury. Just help him to see his mistake.” 5:22

Gladiator (2000)

La sfârşitul unei campanii care a durat 12 ani, împăratul Romei, Marcus Aurelius, ajuns la vârsta senectuţii, vrea să lase conducerea imperiului generalului Maximus, un om recunoscut de soldaţi pentru meritele sale. Fiul împăratului, Commodus, furios pentru că nu este el cel ales să conducă imperiul, îşi ucide tatăl şi ordonă omorârea lui Maximus. Maximus reuşeşte să fugă, dar este capturat şi apoi vândut ca sclav. În scurt timp ajunge gladiator şi se întoarce la Roma pentru a se razbuna pe Commodus care îi omorâse soţia şi copilul. El trebuie să lupte în arena Colosseum-ului, unde se remarcă şi obţine simpatia poporului. Lupta finală este chiar cu Commodus, sub privirile a zeci de mii de oameni.

Ridley Scott este un regizor de excepţie iar interpretarea lui Russel Crowe este magnifică.

„Gladiator”-un film care nu trebuie să lipsească din colecţie.

‘Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them then or bear with them.’

- Marcus Aurelius

Hollywood has a way of distorting History and Facts. Ask a Ten year old boy who Beethoven is and you are stunned to hear that he is a St Bernard Dog and not the musical genius who churned out classical hits like Emperor Concerto (composed for the coronation of Emperor Napoleon).and the Fifth symphony.

Blockbusters have not been spared the same treatment. In Quo Vadis, events and historical facts are created and positioned in manners which offend common sense and reason. In a scene, the character, Marcus Vinicius(played by Robert Taylor) is portrayed breaking a crucifix over his knees after been rejected by the character, Lydia (played by Deborah Kerr).The setting was in the reign of Nero. How could this be possible? The crucifix became a symbol of Christianity sometime in the 4th century AD when Constantine the Great had a dream of a cross and was told that with this he would conquer. The fish not the cross was commonly associated with the religion of the humble carpenter in AD 60.

Another distortion was the death scene at the end of the drama. Nero strangles Acte and then commits suicide in his royal palace (or rather is killed by a female admirer because he is too cowardly to do so himself).The truth was that he fled to the summer residence of his private secretary who drove a knife into his throat.

In the films recording the decline and fall of Rome (Gladiator, the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire), Hollywood prefers historical excursions to truth. Emperor Commodus was not killed in the colloseum by his Spanish general and friend. The sobering truth was that he was strangled in the bath by Narcissus with the connivance of his Christian mistress, Marcia.The death of Marcus Aurelius is also subject to some distortions. In Ridley Scott’s epic, The stoic philosopher is smothered to death with a pillow by Commodus because he wishes to declare Rome a republic. In the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire, he is poisoned with an apple by a blind man.

The truth? Marcus Aurelius died from a combination of the bubonic plague (picked up from the campaigns in Dacia) and the exertions of his campaign against the barbarians on the frozen banks of the Danube in Germania.

In the Decline and fall of the Roman Empire, Lucilla (played by Sophia Loren) who is the love interest of Lucius (Stephen Boyd) survives her bruising encounters with the deranged emperor and flees to the safety of exile. The reality? She was banished by Commodus and then Killed.

In the same film, the throne of Rome is offered by the praetorian guards for six million sesterces to Julianus Didius.This could not have happened in that sequence because Pertinax acceded to the throne in 193AD after the murder of Commodus. Pertinax,the son of a former slave was killed by the praetorian guards who offered the throne to Didius Julianus. Septimius Severus was to disband the praetorian guards and replace them with soldiers from his African campaigns as retaliation for the unjust murder.

Hollywood is not a storyteller of truth and drama. It prefers pyrotechnics and big bucks to reason and consummate acting. This is a disservice to History and until Hollywood chooses to mend its ways, the truth will continue to elude it.

Courage Is Within Us All

“If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything”.

This has been the phrase of my life, yet ironically I have just found it! I have wavered with the prevailing winds, taking to any and all environments that I found myself in, acting as though it were as familiar as my childhood home.

Admittedly I did want others to find me amicable, friendly, easy-going and never judgmental or critical. I found people interesting and loved to get to know those who did stand firmly for something and spoke passionately to me about it. Mostly I agreed, rarely did I make a point to dismantle their theories, even if I found them lacking, but would support their enthusiasm because this was the whole point. This was the up side.

The bad side was when someone close to me became influential and I would lose my way. I lost my own opinions, my own moral compass, my own inner voice, my love for self, and my love for all things lovely.

I’ve found that this revelation is aligned perfectly with Mike Dillard’s Magnetic Sponsoring philosophy, which states that someone that stands for their beliefs and convictions naturally attracts others, whereas one who is aimless in their convictions naturally gravitate to those with conviction.

Later in life, now that I have children, I’m learning some dear lessons about drawing the line in the sand and being a person of conviction. How did I miss this lesson? I know what my principles are now and have listed them, ruminated over them and talked about them with my husband. How is it then that I don’t stand firm, take verbal or physical action when the principles that I hold so dear are trampled upon by neighbors, strangers, acquaintances, even those close to me?

As usual the culprit is always the same. It’s deep, dark, shady, and illusive, yet alluring all in one.

FEAR.

My favorite character that appears as my own thought, tricks me into thinking it’s me, then smashes me over the head in my drunkenness to appease everyone around me.

Fear that I’m not good enough. Fear that I’m wrong. Fear that I am losing control. Fear that something will fall apart. Fear that my fears are right. Fear that others will hate me. Fear that I’m messing my kids up. Fear of anything that looks good to fear.

All of this is absolutely not true. Fear, if I open the door and let it in, has a way of getting me to believe in anything it tells me. I’m learning to catch fear in its tracks and send it on its way. Sometimes I’m good enough to sense it knocking and I refuse to open the door like the little piggy in the brick house. I literally tell it to go away and I turn to the truth’s that I hold close, like my (our) Creator being the only power in the universe and that my Creator, the Creator of all is good, and keeps me safe.

My promise to myself, and my family is that I will stand up, voice my opinion and take action when the principles of our family (my own principles are the same) are being pushed or compromised. Whether it’s by a person, an organization or simply erroneous thinking posing as our own.

Now mind you, I will do this “standing up” as lovingly as I can, however I’m not shy of speaking firmly now, ya’ hear?

Marcus Aurelius said, “If you are distressed by anything external (or internal), the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

What we do today echos in eternity… Marcus Aurelius. Does it end at Death’s Door or is there an existance beyond what our senses and imagination can conceive? An artist, no matter what medium, can transcend the here and now and touch and effect the future. Have you made any art today?

This quote, from the movie Gladiator, is from a son to a father but for a long time, I identified with it and could have said it my wife. Things are actually getting much better and we’ve had a great few days. I named my son Maximus after the main character in this film.

“I searched the faces of the gods … for ways to please you, to make you proud. One kind word, one full hug… where you pressed me to your chest and held me tight would have been like the sun on my heart for a thousand years. What is it in me that you hate so much? …  I would butcher the whole world … if you would only love me!”

Hadot’s discussion of philosophy as a way of life

Hadot emphasizes that philosophers live in the space between the gods and the unconscious masses. He describes philosophy as a searching and a striving for perfection in thought and deed, for excellence (arête) in living. He asserts that

The gods have no need for philosophy, since they already manifest perfection in their being and are never out of that state.

The masses, being unconscious of the potential or need for improvements  in their thoughts and deeds, exist at an unconscious level, manifesting their unrefined human nature. They also have no need for philosophy.

The philosophers are simultaneously aware of their imperfections, but desiring to know and live virtue and knowledge, are constantly striving yet never (or perhaps rarely, for a moment achieving perfection)

By describing philosophy as “A way of life”, I believe Hadot makes the following points:

1. Because it is “a” way” and not “the” way, he implies there are real and meaningful choices for how to proceed along the “way”. Phil makes this point concerning the real choices available and accessible.

2.  Because it is a “way” of life, it implies a comprehensive pattern of actions, behaviors, motivations, justifications that informs and guides and entire life, and acts as a standard to be measured against. It I not something to be confined to a particular time and place in our lives, but something that ties it all together. Andrew describes this well in his reflection on internal standards, as does Mel in her sicussion of consistency and evaluation.

3. Because it is a way “of life’,  Hadot connects the search for excellence and love of wisdom to the center of our living, both as an action verb (excellent living in action) and a state of being (achievement of a state of excellence as a consequence of action).

Hadot’s discussions of the various ancient schools situate them along various choice points, demonstrating through their tenets and through the exemplars of the lives of their founders and representatives. Phil’s summary again, is useful here in capturing the differences between the goal-oriented school of the Epicureans (seeking pleasure, but not just sensually, but in accord with all elements of the human nature, including the desire to connect with the divine ) and the rigorously distilled, laconic principles of the Stoics, who sought crystallized and perpetual gems of wisdom from which right action could be derived and applied for every situation.

His rich descriptions of Socrates, Zeno, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius demonstrate how these choices and endeavors manifested in the living of their lives.

In his chronicle of the massive undertaking of Aristotle to provide structure for the sum of human knowledge at the time morphed over time into a pursuit of ontology for its own sake, losing sight of the purpose of the study of physics as simply a method whereby a man might apprehend and then conform to natural excellence. Aristotle’s achievement becomes an end in itself as philosophers began to increasingly to look at  knowledge and discourse as an end in and of themselves, and not as an inherent part of the examined and properly lives life.

I am reminded of Weick’s reflections on the intersection of theory and practice: as he developed a useful way to examine the dual nature of reflective living which is that life is lived and experienced going forward in the moment, while it is known and understood looking backwards; as sense-making seeks to make clear what was known as uncertain when it happened.

Hadot concludes that philosophy, as practiced,  has departed from the ancients, into a compartment of wordmakers and ontologists, and out  of the center of spiritual and physical lives.

In my own life, I find a connection with Stoic thought, traced to an exposure to the works of Epictetus (who wrote the philosophy manual of the Roman legions) and Marcus Aurelius, whose reflections from the frontier of the Empire resonated with me when I was serving in the DMZ in Korea.  The personal story of Vice admiral Stockdale, who found strength and solace in the Stoics in his 7 1/2 years in solitary confinement in a Vietnamese POW camp stays with me to this day.